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Make Your Own Climate Art

Land Art: Land Art is one of the oldest art forms. It is simply, creating something beautiful out of natural materials. This is an art form that can be done anywhere on earth, because any material can be used to make art. A pile of sticks can become a bird, or a sandy beach can become a sun. The possibilities are endless. more ideas

Aerial Art: One of the signatures of the 350 movement has been the incredible creativity shown through the creation of Aerial Art. This is a great art form because its very medium shows how many people are involved. Aerial art can be done in many different ways, small or as big as you can imagine. Think about using different colors in the image, or using other materials to create part of the image. You can even make your aerial art animated! more ideas

350 Mural: There are walls all over the world, separating things. By painting the wall you can make it the wall tool to bring people together, to educate and inspire them, and to make spaces more colorful and enjoyable. This is a great project that everyone can get involved in, and can communicate to people for years to come. more ideas

350 Flash Mob: Organize a "flash mob" – where crowds of coordinated people suddenly assemble in public spaces. There are endless variations, from freezing in place for 350 seconds to wearing snorkels and swimming trunks to talk about sea level rise. This is a project it is bound to surprise. more ideas

Street Art: Street art supporting 350 has started showing up all over the world. From Belarus to Switzerland to the United States, people have been sending us images of walls where they have seen painted 350s. Street art is a modern way to bring the 350 message into public eye and the public conscience. more ideas

Traditional Art: Embrace local traditions to create a piece of art that reflects local traditions. Use traditional local materials, symbols, or artistic techniques and show the world what local solutions your community has. There are thousands of years of knowledge of how to live sustainably on this planet, lets hold onto and share those traditions as we move ahead. more ideas

350 Film Festival: There are so many wonderful and creative films online about climate change. Organize a mini film festival, and invite people to come watch. You can show numerous short movies from Youtube, or show a full length film. There may even be films made about the specific local issues of your region. Leave time for discussion at the end of the movie, so you can talk about how to turn your feelings into actions.

Street Theater: Create a Street Theater performance that educates people about climate change, and what they can do to help stop it. Get creative! Street Theater is a great way to entice a general audience into listening to what you want to say. Street art engages anyone who happens to walk by – which is great – we need everyone to combat the climate crisis. more ideas

Get Crafty: Crafts are a great way to show your support for 350 while simultaneously taking action. Everything we can make for ourselves is one step closer towards sustainability and local production. Use your talents, whatever they might be, to create a solution that will get us down to 350. Click here to see the beautiful results from the 350 Craftster Contest.

Bike Parade: Bicycles are one of the most joyous and simple solutions to get us down to 350. Organizing a bike parade is simple. Set a place and time, and ask people to come with their bicycles. Ask people to come in costume or to make flags or license plates for their bikes – and you'll be sure to get noticed. more ideas

Food!: Cooking is an art, perhaps the most important one of all, and is one of the key solutions to sustainable living. Sitting together around a table is also one of the best ways to get to know new people. Have a pot-latch dinner with local food, or contact a local food co-op and organize a feast. Get creative: how can you incorporate the message of 350 into your favorite dish?

Still don't have your idea yet? Here are some more projects to help communicate what 350 really means.

Bench Project: Modern Dance for 350: "Movements need movement!" as Bill McKibben says. Create a performance of this moving dance piece created by choreographer Jennifer Muller to help people understand what climate change means on a emotional level. This project can be done by anyone, even if you aren't the worlds best dancer….

350 Trees: Trees can be a powerful tool for talking to people about CO2, and what it means for our planet. Look at the creative trees some people have made for 350 – from trees made from garbage to tree-quilts and collages. more ideas

350 Piece Sculpture: Create a sculpture using 350 different pieces. This can be made from 350 different objects, or 350 of the same object. Perhaps you could use 350 local beans to form a picture of a farm or the sun, or 350 pieces of garbage you've collected. The object you use could also be part of a climate solution. You could use and give away 350 clothes pins to show people why air-drying clothes is a simple climate solution.

350 Projections: Borrow a projector and project an image of 350 or another drawing onto a local climate solution or local environmental problem. This can be done with a simple overhead projector and these stencils. The image you see here is project onto the side of a glacier in the Arctic circle.

Singing Tree: California artist Laurie Marshall provides simple instructions on how to create a beautiful "Singing Tree Mural". This is a great project for classrooms or for large groups.

Creative Writing: Language is one of the most powerful tools we have as communicators. Writing can help us to imagine both the good and bad outcomes of the climate change. Write something on your own and send it in, or gather a group of local writers and organize a reading.

Giant Numbers: Create Giant Numbers to grab people's attention. The best way of getting people interested is to make them curious. Standing in a public place with these giant numbers guarantees that people will walk up to you and ask "What is 350?"

Garbage Parade:Organize a parade that celebrates reusing and recycling by making instruments and costumes out of "trash". Use this event to campaign for local recycling bins or to urge local stores to use less packaging.

Window Diorama: Turn your bedroom window into a work of art, or ask a local shop if you can take over their window for a week. Create a 350 window display that can be seen by the public, that creatively communicates the need for action on climate change. Perhaps make a collage or a sculpture out of "trash".

350 Life Raft: Use recycled materials to create a "life raft" to raise awareness about the threat of rising sea levels. Perhaps organize a voyage on your new boat and invite the press.

Chalk Drawings: Use chalk to create a street-mural that highlights a local issue about climate change. Chalk is a great (and washable) way to put art into public spaces.

Story Telling: Story telling is one of the oldest art forms there is. Many of the stories we know today have been passed down for hundreds of generations. Work with a local group to create new stories, or to adapt traditional myths from your region to reflect the current climate crisis. Invite community elders to speak about the sustainable practices they grew up with.

350 Mosaic: Use broken tiles to create a 350 mosaic. This project can create a durable art piece for a local park or playground. Maybe make your mosaic using 350 different pieces?

350 Quilt: Use old pieces of fabric to create a 350 quilt. Working on a project like this is a great way to bring people together and get them chatting. Perhaps people could each bring their own square for the quilt, or maybe use 350 different pieces of fabric?

350 Art Exhibit: Organize local artists to create works of art and host a local Climate Art Exhibit in a local cafe or cultural center. Perhaps focus on how the landscape might change in the coming years, or what is worth protecting from climate change. You can also mix in art from the 350 global network, to make the exhibition a truly local/global collaboration.

Guide to Icelandic Butterflies: Iceland currently has no butterflies. Artist Louisa Conrad asks you to imagine what types of butterflies Iceland might have in the future, if it continues warming. Design your own species of butterfly and send it in to the "People's Guide to Icelandic Butterflies". Click here for more details on the project.

Animation:You can create a simple stop-motion movie using any digital camera. Make a clay-mation video using a piece of clay, or use paper cutouts to create a movie that communicates how you feel about climate change. Click here for a sample video from 350 Barcelona.

Collage: Gather old news papers and magazines and cut them up to create a 350 collage. Perhaps this could depict a 350 planet, or could show what is keeping us back from reaching our target.

Create your own project:Most of the ideas you've just read about were conceived of by the incredible 350 global network, just like you. Make your own project and send us pictures! We can't wait to see it.

We believe that art is an essential part of any social movement — especially one that aims to get out in the street and get loud! Artivism keeps the climate movement creative, collaborating, and beautiful. This space is a resource for climate artivists everywhere.

Get Inspired

Past projects by climate artivists from around the world. Inspiration and ideas for how creativity can be a catalyst for social change.

Get Skilled Up

350.org is building a global climate movement. Our online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions are coordinated by a global network active in over 188 countries. Click here to learn more about our work.